The Aviator
by TormentingAllLemmings
Summary: Someone who prefers to be a bird has a lot to learn about being human, especially when allies are needed to survive. Being stuck with Johnny Storm is hardly appealing, but she'll do what she has to.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: A young woman gifted with the power of avian transformation comes to New York looking for help against a mutual enemy. Unfortunately, her attitude doesn't help matters much with potential allies and she finds that learning to be human is harder than people make it sound.

Warning: N/A

Disclaimer: I don't own _Fantastic Four_, _X-Men_ or anything else familiar. I own plot, Haribon, and any other OCs that may appear.

I hope you enjoy this! It's really just something to get my brain to feel like writing again, and I liked the idea of this. Doesn't take place in any particular universe, so won't match up with movie plots, TV plots, or comic plots. AU.

Please review if read. Comments, ideas, suggestions, and helpful criticism welcome.

* * *

The file on his lap told him all needed to know. The mutant was becoming a nuisance to his project, and if she refused to cooperate, then there was no more need for her safety to be a concern. Her power was interesting, but no better than others, and worse than a few individuals that currently occupied his thoughts. Left alone she could be dangerous – elimination was the only acceptable option.

* * *

Haribon swept through the air, flapping frantically against the wind currents. In her panic, the common sense and knowledge of the sky failed her entirely and she became a prey to her emotions – ironic, being a killing machine usually put her solidly in the 'predator' category. Out of her element, her blue-gray eyes scanned the land she had been chased into, and found herself in what appeared to a bay, a city's skyline rising before her.

"_New York,"_ she realized. _"A long way from home,"_ was the second regretful thought, but her eagle mind brushed it aside in the interests of self-preservation. As the mini, AI-controlled jet fired another laser blast her way, Haribon made a sharp dive and plunged towards the water. Midway through the imminent collision with water, her brown-white feathers shimmered before changing into that of the streaked shearwater, yellow claws and bluish-gray bill transforming into pink legs and pale bill. Hitting the water with greater force than she meant to, Haribon dove deep into the waters of the Hudson Bay and propelled herself forward with her wings, resisting the bird's urge to catch passing fish as she dodged blasts from the laser, the intense heat gone in the water's depths.

Not knowing where she was going, or even if she was going to survive being underwater for so long in her exhausted state, she shivered as the shadow of a boat passed over her. Shooting back up into the sky after she crossed underneath it, Haribon gasped for air as she resumed her eagle state and looked frantically for her pursuer. To her amazement, it was gone.

"_Smashed into the boat? No…maybe it thought I drowned?"_ she wondered, knowing she had just barely avoided suffocating, and wondering if the programmed AI assumed she hadn't survived. _"Lucky me,"_ she mused, her eagle eyes searching for somewhere to rest. Finding a tree near the shore, she lighted gratefully upon the branch and closed her eyes, ready for some well-deserved rest.

* * *

Avian transformations – a Philippine Eagle and a Streaked Shearwater, land and water birds respectively – had become part of Haribon's life since a small girl, so much so that she had abandoned the use of her human name and almost never transformed into her human form. She had found being a bird of prey placed her squarely in a category preferable to that of most human beings, and there was no reason for her to worry about human affairs.

Well, not anymore, at least.

At a loss for what to do with herself now, not waking until late morning the next day, Haribon muttered to herself in her mind. She had grown used to having human company, even if she scorned her human body, and was unable to communicate with other birds, no matter which species she was. Looking around, her eyes narrowed to slits when she saw a young man strolling down the shore, whistling to himself and looking entirely too smug for a human. After another second, she fluffed in astonishment when she recognized him – Johnny Storm, one of the Fantastic Four.

"_Could he help? I mean, they haven't fought him before…I don't know."_ She considered the idea while she watched him. She had heard about the Human Torch, and he wasn't on her personal 'Top Ten Humans Most Admired' list; not even in the top twenty, for that matter. But, he was the brother to Susan Storm, who was married to Reed Richards, the genius scientist.

Having made up her mind, Haribon fluffed even further for a moment before gliding off her perch towards the young man.

Seeing a giant bird coming towards him – the Philippine Eagle having a wingspan of almost seven feet – didn't have the best effect on Johnny. As a matter of fact, it freaked the hell out of him and he turned and ran the other way. It was only when a voice entered his head that he paused, hoping he was insane.

"_Would you stop running! I'm not going to eat you."_

"Huh?" he managed dumbly. His experiences since becoming the Human Torch – being the buddy of Spider-Man for one – had broadened his ideas and helped to accept more easily strange occurrences, but this was too much. The bird – eagle – landed on the post next to him, observing him coolly and, he thought, with a bit of irritation.

"_If you're done being an idiot, I need your help."_

Yep, definite irritation.

"What are you?" he demanded, but was ignored as the bird ruffled its feathers indignantly.

"_An eagle, what does it look like? A Philippine Eagle, to be precise. Actually, that's not – whatever. I'll explain, but I need to talk to your brother-in-law first. I need help, and I ended up here, so might as well try the Fantastic Four, right?"_

"A sarcastic eagle…I thought I'd seen it all," Johnny muttered, pulling his windbreaker around him more. Maybe the bird was a mutant like other he had met – a girl with the powers of transformation, maybe, since the voice was definitely female – but he decided to let Reed deal with it. He may have matured, but Johnny did _not_ go looking for unnecessary work.

"_What was that?"_ Haribon demanded, staring sharply at him in a way only a bird can.

"Come on – don't you know where the Baxter Building is?" he asked, turning around to head back to the city section of main Manhattan.

"_If I did, I would have gone there directly, don'tcha think?"_

"Whatever, just try not to be too conspicuous," he grumbled, before realizing the bird had soared high into the sky above the buildings, able to see him clearly with vision keener than humans. "This is not gong to be a good day," he sighed.

* * *

"Johnny, what are you doing here?" Sue asked in surprise, as her brother stalked into the suite.

"Is Reed here?" he asked in aggravation, keeping an eye on the sky outside.

"Yes, he's in the lab again – what's the matter?" his sister demanded, hands on her hips in typical big-sister fashion. "Did you do something again?"

"Someone wants to talk to him," the young man said stiffly, moving towards a window and sliding the glass pane wide open.

"Why are you opening a window, bugs will…get…in…" The Invisible Woman trailed off as the eagle glided through the window, barely fitting, and settled on the back of a chair, rustling as if making itself comfortable. "What on earth…"

"It's very complicated. I think it's human…or something…"

"_I can hear what you're saying, and I don't think it's very flattering. I'm a 'she', not an it, thank you very much,"_ the bird snapped, staring once more at Johnny. Sue grasped the situation slightly more quickly than her brother had, also getting a better idea of what the bird was at the same moment.

"And you need to talk to my husband?" she asked, and the bird turned it's stare to her.

"_Yes. It's important. I would have gone to someone else, but I ended up here."_

"I'll go get him, then," Sue said, a bit faintly. Being told off by a giant bird wasn't the easiest thing to deal with, but she handled it with characteristic grace as she headed toward the lab.

"There's no reason to be so rude to my sister," Johnny informed the bird, who – he swear – shrugged.

"_There's no reason for me to be called an 'it',"_ she replied calmly, taking the time to preen a bit until Sue returned, a curious Reed in tow. The man approached Haribon cautiously, eyeing the bird with amazement.

"I'm Reed Richards," he introduced himself, and she stopped fixing her wing to twist her head into what looked like an uncomfortable angle, and stared at him.

"_Pleased to meet you. Haribon."_

"A Philippine Eagle – Haribon is the nickname for it. Very clever," he said, and she was momentarily stunned. No one had realized what her name was until now, and it amused her to no end.

"_I'm impressed, Mr. Richards! I'm sure you're trying to guess what I am, correct?"_ she asked, but he shook his head.

"The only logical conclusion is that you're able to transform into a bird," Richards replied calmly, and she performed the equivalent of a nod.

"_Avian transformation – a Philippine Eagle or Streaked Shearwater. I prefer a bird form,"_ Haribon told him, projecting her thoughts so that the siblings also heard what she told him.

"To your human one, you mean?" he guessed, a bit surprised. The eagle merely eyed him calmly, head twitching briefly. "Well, to get down to business, why do you need our help?" Reed continued, taking a seat facing the eagle.

"_My mutation isn't like yours, or Spider-Man's,_" Haribon began calmly. _"It's in my genetics. Technically, I'm a mutant like one of the X-Men, for example. When I'm in this form, I acquire some sort of telepathy so I can still communicate with humans – although why I can, I have no idea. It's convenient, though."_

"I'm sure it is," the man agreed, as Sue took a seat next to him. Johnny remained standing, clearly ill at ease with the mutant.

"_To get to the point, I became involved in experiments concerning DNA and genetic testing for mutations while still in the womb,"_ she continued calmly, as if there was nothing strange about this. _"Another commodity for the man performing the experiments. I was also useful for communication, as my telepathy has quite a good range Unfortunately, I began to ask too many questions concerning his methods, or so I assume. He decided to terminate the project, including all former assets."_

"Which would mean you as well," Sue guessed, and the bird blinked.

"_Correct."_

"Haribon, if I can ask, how old are you – in human years?" Reed added quickly. The more he knew about the human mind he was dealing with, the better he would be able to deal with the situation.

"_Let me think…it's been quite some time since I last changed into the human form…I believe I'm twenty-one. Yes, twenty-one is correct,"_ she replied, and the husband and wife couldn't help but exchange a disbelieving look. The mutant spoke as if her original person was just another form to change into, and an inconvenient one at that.

"Who is the person who decided to kill you?" Sue asked, leaning forward slightly.

"_Oh, not just me. At least three other mutants that I know of were killed. They almost got me, I was just lucky. I believe his name is familiar to you, although I do not believe you have encountered him. Mr. Sinister?"_

"Oh, shit," Johnny groaned, lowering himself into a chair. The three members sat in somber silence for a long moment, while Haribon merely began to adjust her feathers again. If they couldn't help, she'd merely move on to the X-Men, who had proved successful before. No great loss on her part.

"You're correct in saying we haven't fought him before," Reed said finally, looking a great deal less curious than he had before. "However, thanks to our discussions with Professor Xavier and others, we do have quite a bit of knowledge concerning him."

"_That's a nice way of saying you know about him, but you can't do anything,"_ Haribon concluded, shifting as if to move to the window ledge. _"I appreciate you listening."_

"I didn't say we wouldn't do anything!" Reed interrupted her hastily, while Sue sighed. A battle of the scientists intrigued Reed, although the team had long-ago agreed to leave villains like Sinister to a team better-equipped to deal with his powers. "The least we can do is escort you to the Institute. I'm sure something can be decided there."

"_I can take care of myself quite well, thank you all the same,"_ she said, obviously declining the offer. _"Flight is preferable."_

"So is an alliance," Sue began, suddenly breaking into the conversation. The eagle twisted its head once more to stare at her, this time not quite so mad-looking.

"_What are you proposing?"_

"We've worked with the X-Men before," she said promptly, and the bird's jerk of the head indicated she already knew that. "If Mr. Sinister is up to more experiments with mutants, he's everyone's concern. We can't just hand off the responsibility," she continued, shooting a warning glance at her brother, whose mouth was open to protest.

"_If I understand correctly, you're saying that you're going to become involved simply because of a sense of civic duty?"_ Haribon asked in disbelief, feathers ruffling.

"Wouldn't you?" Sue demanded.

"_No."_

"Where's Ben?" Reed asked, interrupting the staring contest between woman and bird.

"Right here. What the hell is this?" the Thing demanded, starting as the eagle fixed her gaze on him. The sharp eyes narrowed at the question, but Reed drew his friend aside quickly before any telepathy was exchanged between the two. After a few long minutes, Ben winced – obviously, Reed had gotten to Sue's decision to get involved.

"_Interesting group you have here,"_ Haribon remarked to Johnny, turning to look at him. He blinked in surprise, and then shrugged.

"Yeah, it's anything but boring. I guess," he said with a shrug, and the eagle cocked its head at him for a moment, peering at him sharply before returning its gaze to the others. "You can't change into anything less conspicuous?" he asked suddenly, and the eagle stared at him.

"_I happen to like this. And I don't happen to have anything else, other than the Shearwater, which is __**not**__ a seagull," _she informed him sharply, having sensed the next question.

"What about your human form?" Johnny pressed, curious as to what a telepathic bird would look like as the human she was. Haribon, however, ruffled her feathers in what seemed to be an eagle version of a snort before ignoring him. The three older adults had apparently finished their conversation, and Reed didn't look too happy.

"We can't all leave – it's just too dangerous to leave the building empty like that," Reed began, and Johnny suddenly had a feeling what was coming.

"Oh, no way!"

"Since you want to fly, flight it'll be," Reed continued, speaking to Haribon. "Johnny will accompany you to the Institute – and he's going to stay and help if they decide to. Understand?" he added, glancing at the young man. Ben shrugged sympathetically, but it was obvious neither he nor Sue was going to do anything about it.

"_We should be going then,"_ the eagle decided, turning towards the window. _"I appreciate the help, Mr. Richards. I'm sure we'll see each other again. Take care."_ With that, she swept from the room without a backwards glance to see if Johnny was following.

"If Sinister is involved, it'll be messy," Reed explained, heading off the argument he knew was coming. "And who knows what resources he has if he was doing experiments. The best thing we can do is let the others know, so be sure to let us know what's going on as soon as you can."

"Yeah, I'll just develop telepathic powers too," the Human Torch grumbled, but knew there was no other feasible option at the moment. "Flame on!" he shouted, leaping from the window. He fell for a split-second before launching into the air and streaking after the eagle, which seemed to take his approach as calmly as she observed a bug.

* * *

Sorry for the long last paragraph! Please review. 


	2. Chapter 2

Summary; Warning; Disclaimer: See First Chapter.

At long last, I am updating! As I've told several readers, I'm finally managing to crank out pages at a time, so here's one for you guys!

Please review if read. Reviews are appreciated.

* * *

Johnny hadn't attempted much conversation during the trip to the Institute. For one thing, it wasn't that long a trip, and he was too busy being aggravated about being stuck with a telepathic bird-person for a traveling companion. For another, he wasn't sure exactly what he could talk about. Family, life in general? He had the feeling that was not good subject matter.

"_You can ask,"_ the voice said with dry amusement, surprising him enough to make him start.

"Ask what?" he replied calmly, glancing over at the huge bird that had moved to glide along beside him, staying just out of the range of his flames.

"_Whatever it is you're thinking,"_ she replied, meeting his glance with one of her own. _"I'm sure you have questions about me. I would about you, if your life wasn't one of the most popular searches on Google right now."_

"Good point," he conceded, a little embarrassed but not that much. Hey, fame had its price. "So, what _about_ your family?" he continued, keeping an eye out for the Institute.

"_Dead. Killed in California when an earthquake hit a few years back,"_ she replied casually. _"They knew about my power – didn't mind it too much, to my amazement. Of course, I've had it since I was about six. I went to work for Sinister about two years ago now – I thought it'd be interesting work. I was right."_ She fell silent, and Johnny wondered whether he should pry or not. Luckily, the problem was solved for him when the grounds of the Institute appeared below them.

"Looks like we're here," he said with apparent relief, aiming for the backyard. Haribon folded her wings to her sides and sped right next to him, and he expected her to slam into the earth as he landed feet-first, flames dieing. Instead, she skimmed the ground for a second before moving back up to a tree nearby.

"_Is there going to be a problem with me like this?"_ she asked, surprising him for a second time in five minutes.

"Um…you're kind of big, you know," he hinted, and he swore the bird sighed.

"_Point taken,"_ she agreed. He blinked when the eagle shimmered for a split-second before a smaller bird landed on the ground, clearly unhappy with feet unsuited for trees. She had a scaled, dark gray-brown upperparts and white underparts, with a white forehead.

"That the other form?" he asked a bit stupidly, and she glared at him – not nearly as effective without the sharp eagle eyes.

"_No shit,"_ she remarked, waddling a bit. _"I'm really not suited to walk in this form. Mind helping me? I'm a bit worn out from flying so much today."_

Surprised – again – by the request, Johnny nodded and scooped the bird up, looking at her as she settled in his arms, which he crossed carefully underneath her.

"_Not bad,"_ she commented, fluffing slightly. _"Thank you. Are we going to see Professor Xavier, or not?"_

"Yeah, better sooner than later," he agreed, looking around. Several of the students had taken notice of their arrival and were heading their way. "How'm I going to explain this one?" Johnny wondered with a groan. The shearwater in his arms merely preened smugly.

* * *

"I see," the Professor said, after the pair had explained everything. Rather, Haribon had told him what she had told the Fantastic Four, and Johnny had answered what he could.

"_Is that it?"_ she asked in irritation, resting on Johnny's lap since the shearwater's feet were, obviously, seabird's feet instead of regular talons associated with birds of prey. _"I see? Don't you have anything to help?"_

"I didn't say that," he replied mildly, giving the bird a calm look that almost made her ashamed.

"_Well?"_

"This is quite complicated, obviously," he mused, turning to look out the window. "We haven't heard from Sinister in some time. I was mistaken in my hope that he had simply left. Although it is curious, using mutants in such a fashion."

"_Is it?"_

"I suppose it's his methods," Xavier conceded, sighing a bit. "He preferred to use 'live' mutants who had already reached adulthood, or at least gained control of their powers. This new experimentation is very strange."

"_Yes, it's strange, it's complicated, it's sick. Any ideas?"_ Haribon pressed, nearly hopping in annoyance. Johnny almost put his hand on the bird's back to keep her down, and then thought better of it when she suddenly snapped her head to fix him with a cold stare.

"Not at the moment, I'm afraid," the Professor admitted. "Sinister hasn't made an appearance since we last fought, and if he's in hiding, there's not much we can do. Even if he has remained in his last known location," he continued, sensing the mutant's objections, "his defenses are sure to be formidable. And I'm afraid my team isn't in any condition to take on such a powerful force at the moment."

"_Some X-Men,"_ she remarked dryly. Xavier abruptly turned to stare at the bird, his gaze focusing on her, and Johnny jumped when the bird suddenly cried out and flapped her wings.

"Hey, what's going on?" he demanded, as the bird fell onto the floor, writhing in what appeared to be a considerable amount of pain.

"Telepathy," a mutant named Storm told him calmly, placing a hand on his shoulder and drawing him back a bit. "Leave the Professor to do what he feels is necessary – he will not harm your friend."

Johnny began to object to the obnoxious bird being called his friend, and then winced as a shriek ripped from the bird's throat. It sounded like a dying scream, and it was anything but pleasant to hear. He watched in a strange fascination as the form shimmered and became the eagle, whose wings quickly caused considerable damage to the small room's decorations.

"Are you sure…" he began, but Ororo nodded.

"Yes. It appears she has blocked memories relevant to this problem, rather deeply," she said. "They may be blocks forced on her by Sinister, which would explain the amount of effort the Professor is having to exert on her."

"Ah, there we go," the Professor said suddenly, sitting back in his wheelchair and looking with satisfaction at the heaving eagle on the floor. The bird seemed to curl in on itself before silver lines seemed to wave over it, slowly expanding until a cocoon surrounded it. After a few seconds, it seemed to pulse several times before the bird was gone, with a young woman standing on the carpet in its place.

"_What the…"_ Johnny thought, as her legs wobbled and she sank onto the floor with a gasp.

"What the…" she echoed his thoughts before appearing to concentrate. When nothing happened, her eyes widened in horror. "You blocked my power!" she accused him, shaking with rage. The fact that she was stark naked didn't seem to affect her very much, and her hair reached her waist in thick brown waves, the edges pure white. Her eyes were still the gold of the eagle, and just as piercing at the moment.

"You're merely too exhausted to shapeshift at the moment," Xavier told her calmly. Ororo had returned – having left without Johnny's noticing – and brought a long nightshirt with her, apparently having anticipated what was going to happen. Haribon snatched at the shirt and pulled it over her head, still glaring.

"I'm never too –"

"What just happened?" Johnny interrupted, shaking his head and taking a step forward. "Because I'm confused as hell." Haribon almost looked like she was going to punch him before clenching her fists at her side and staring straight ahead at the wall.

"This is Haribon," the Professor said, gesturing to the young woman. "A form you haven't taken in quite some time, am I correct?"

"Of course you are," she replied sullenly. Staring at her, Johnny began to see other signs that it was the former bird figure other than her eyes; the layers of hair around her face reminded him of the way the eagle's feathers slowly grew in size from the face. Her figure was surprisingly petite for someone with such a huge wingspan – he estimated she wasn't any taller than 5'3" at the most, and was slender with an hourglass figure some women would kill for, while others would call it fat.

"A bird's mind is radically different than a human's, even a mutant's," the man continued calmly, as if nothing strange had happened. "I apologize, but it was necessary to change you back in order to remove the blocks. You'll recover in a day or two, and then be able to change again."

"What blocks?" she demanded, still wobbling a bit, but stubbornly remaining standing. "I didn't have any blocks!"

"You were unable to remember the location of the facility Sinister was in," the Professor reminded her gently. "The names of the other mutants, the name of the facility itself, even the nature of the experiments – they were all gone."

"No, they wer…" Haribon trailed off when she realized the Professor was telling the truth, and shook her head. "What the hell happened to me?" she demanded, her voice shaking a bit from oncoming panic. "I didn't even realize I was missing those memories! What else did he do to me?"

"Nothing that I could tell," Xavier said soothingly. "I knew he would prevent you from using your full memory against him – it's only natural for him. I think it's best we don't attempt anything further today. You need to rest and recover from the removal of the blocks, and we can continue this conversation in the morning."

Haribon began to protest, but Ororo took her by the elbow and led the young woman out before any words escaped her mouth. Johnny was left alone with the Professor, and stood awkwardly until the man cleared his throat.

"I understand she approached the Fantastic Four first," he began calmly. "Do you or your teammates have any idea why she would do that?"

"No. We didn't really get that much of a chance to talk things over before Reed sent me over with her," Johnny admitted with a shrug. "If they've decided anything else, I don't know."

"Well, what do you think?" Xavier asked, surprising the young man.

"What, me?"

"I'm sure your brother-in-law sent you with Haribon for a reason," he continued.

"Yeah, I can fly," the Human Torch grunted. "Other than that, I'm not really sure. I think they just wanted me to have something to do." At this suggestion, the leader of the X-Men began to laugh, chuckling for a few minutes before shaking his head in amusement. "What's so funny?" Johnny demanded a bit grumpily.

"Not a thing. I apologize," Xavier said, sighing. "Johnny, would you like to remain in the mansion for the duration of Haribon's stay? I may send her back to the Baxter Building once I have found out all I need to know from her. It would be extremely dangerous for her to stay here, at any rate. If he decides to look for her, Sinister would think to look here first. And I highly doubt he believes she is dead, since he felt it necessary to place blocks in her mind. He either knew she would survive, or he planned her escape."

"I get what you're saying," Johnny interrupted. "Either way, it'd be stupid for her to stay here where Sinister would be able to attack so many mutants."

"Exactly," the Professor agreed with a nod. "I'll place you near Haribon, in case something happens."

* * *

"This is ridiculous," the shapeshifter muttered, sitting cross-legged on the bed she had been given and arms crossed over her chest defiantly.

"What is?" Johnny asked, rubbing his eyes and suppressing a yawn. She had woken him up at the crack of dawn, dressed in dark-blue jeans, tan sneakers, and a dark-brown thermal shirt that had been found for her, frowning down at him as if wondering what he was doing still asleep.

"That he said morning, and it's almost afternoon!" she exclaimed, almost sounding as if she was whining. The clock hadn't yet hit nine o'clock, and Johnny was feeling anything but generous at the moment.

"Well, that's just tough," he retorted, stretching out on the floor in black tennis shoes, blue jeans, and a red T-shirt. He closed his eyes, ready to take a nap before he had to move again, and grunted in pain when an elbow came sharply in contact with his ribs. "Shit!" he yelped, sitting up in a rush. Haribon sat back on her heels smugly, watching him. In that pose, she reminded him even more of a bird hunting prey. "What the hell was that for?" he demanded, rubbing his bruised body.

"I'm bored," she said with a shrug.

"You're _bored_? You're bored, so you decide to maim me?" he demanded incredulously, and she nodded blankly.

"You weren't doing anything."

"I'm not here for your amusement!" he informed her loudly, but she tilted her head in such a bird-like manner he abruptly fell silent. _"She really is like a bird, isn't she? A bird's mind in a girl's body…what happened that she decided being a bird was better?"_ he wondered, and then winced when she poked him again, a bit more gently this time. "What now?" he asked with a sigh.

"Sorry," she muttered with a shrug. "I just wish I could get this over with. I want to change back!"

"Why?" he asked suddenly. "I mean, what's the big deal about being a bird? How come you don't like your human form?"

"It's cumbersome," Haribon replied sullenly.

"Cumbersome?" he repeated. "And being an eagle with a wingspan like that isn't?"

"No, because I'm not in buildings," she shot back. "I like being outside and not cramped into a box. It's ridiculous," she finished sourly, glaring at the floor.

"I'm sure the Professor won't make you stay inside a long time," Johnny said lamely, not sure what to say to that. He liked fast cars, good-looking women, and nice places. He had no clue what to say to someone who preferred being a bird to a human, and that was the end of that.

* * *

Almost two more hours passed in relative silence before Ororo came to get them, appearing amused at Haribon's attitude and Johnny's expression of one who has suffered greatly. "The Professor would like to see you both now," she informed them, standing in the doorway and waiting for them to follow her.

"Finally!"

The two young people paused when they realized they had spoken in unison, each with their own reasons. Johnny couldn't handle being stuck with the claustrophobic shifter any longer, while Haribon was just happy to be moving.

"I'm sure he will be pleased at your eagerness," the woman commented. Her tone was calm as usual, and Johnny groaned to himself. He wasn't looking forward to much today, except hopefully going home and ridding himself of the shifter. Haribon, on the other hand, stalked after Ororo quickly – if she had feathers, they would be fluffed out defensively.

"What else does he want?" she pressed with a frown on her face.

"I am not sure," the woman told her calmly. "I suggest you be a bit more respectful today than you were yesterday, though. The Professor is risking much to help you, and it would be proper to remember that fact."

Appearing slightly abashed, Haribon stared defiantly at the floor the entire way to the office, remaining silent despite Ororo's attempts at small talk.

* * *

"I've decided to send you back to the Baxter Building for the time being, Haribon," the Professor said, and it was all the shifter could do to refrain from saying he had already told them that. Remembering Ororo's warning, she only shuffled her feet.

"You already said that though, Professor," Johnny said, and he nodded.

"I felt it was necessary to repeat it," he informed them sternly, and then turned his gaze back to Haribon. "From what I understand, according to the memories I was able to gather from your mind, Sinister is no longer where he was last."

"Duh," she mumbled, but kept it quiet.

"Furthermore, I sent a team to investigate the area your mind showed me, and it was completely deserted," the wheeled man continued. She looked up sharply, and he held up a hand to silence her. "Either Sinister cleared out rather quickly, or your mind was tampered with even more than I believed. I do believe the research was indeed taking place, but I'm disturbed that he seems to have acquired even more control over mutants than previously."

"So, I'm useless?" she demanded, but he shook his head with a tolerant smile.

"No, far from it. You've warned us of an extremely serious threat against the mutant community," Xavier assured her. "I don't want to explore further in your mind – I'm not sure what damage could take place. I'd like to see if anything can surface on its own, now that the blocks have, hopefully, been removed."

"Sounds boring," Haribon sighed – if she was in her bird form, her feathers would have ruffled indignantly.

"There is one place I'd like you to visit yourself, Haribon, once your powers are functional," he added. "Soroca, a town in Moldova. I sensed it in your memories, and I'm unsure what significance it might have. However, at the very least it may serve to clarify whether or not it does have anything to do with Sinister."

"Oh boy," she groused, crossing her arms stubbornly. Johnny elbowed her sharply, partly payback for her earlier pokes, and she stared at him in shock. The predator in her recognized it as a challenge, and she visibly gritted her teeth to remain seated.

"We can do that," Johnny agreed calmly. "We'll head back to New York then, if that's all, and take a few days to plan out everything. We'll let you know what we find, or not."

"That sounds like a sound plan," Xavier agreed cheerfully, shaking both of their hands. "I wish you luck, Haribon, for all of our sakes," he told her softly, and her eyes widened in surprise. Nodding, she set her jaw.

"I'll do fine," she agreed. Stalking out after Johnny, she shut the door after them, leaving Ororo and the Professor alone.

"Is this wise?" the woman asked calmly, looking at her teacher.

"Is anything?" he replied, but nodded. "She's a strong person, despite her nature – or perhaps because of it. And Johnny is tougher than he thinks he is. And they're not as alone as you might think," he added, with a sudden smile.

Ororo paused at this, and then narrowed her eyes when she realized what Xavier meant.

"Wraith?"

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